Syrian refugees fleeing the violence in their country make their way to a refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq 31 July. (photo: CNS/Muhammad Hamed, Reuters)

01 Aug 2012  In March 2012, CNEWA launched an appeal to help the Syrian church provide emergency relief to families forced from their homes and properties in the city of Homs and the nearby town of al Qusayr.

Assistance to Christian partners in Syria is being coordinated by CNEWA’s Pontifical Mission office in Beirut.

Fighting has now reached Christian neighborhoods in Aleppo and Damascus, potentially exacerbating the displacement of families.

CNEWA is receiving assistance from sources throughout North America and Europe, including grants from several foundations:

Kindermissionswerk Germany allocated €30,000 to help displaced Syrian children up to 14 years of age

The Raskob Foundation allocated $30,000 to help displaced families in Syria and Lebanon.

Implementation and progress

On 15 May 2012, CNEWA’s regional director in Beirut, Issam Bishara, signed cooperative agreements with the following partners:

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd

, represented by its Provincial Superior Sister Marie-Claude Naddaf, to help two centers located in Akrama, Homs, and another center in the old city of Damascus;

The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, represented by Father Maher Mansour, to support the patriarchate’s efforts to help refugees in Damascus;

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, represented by Samer Laham, Director of Ecumenical Relations and Development, to provide emergency help to families displaced from Homs to Wadi al Nasarah (the Valley of the Christians) and villages surrounding Homs;

and Father Eliane Nasrallah, Melkite Greek Catholic parish priest of Al Qaa, a Lebanese village located on the border with Syria and very close to al Qusayr.